What Matters in America: Reading and Writing About Contemporary Culture
Gary Goshgarian, Northeastern University

ISBN-10: 032125029X
ISBN-13: 9780321250292

Publisher: Longman
Copyright: 2007
Format: Paper; 384 pp
Published: 12/31/2005

Suggested retail price: $40.00
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What Matters In America invites students to explore the culture of contemporary America, to read about provocative issues such as our right to privacy, violence on television, campus speech codes, and genetic technology.   The brief reading selections and engaging visuals in this readerdraw students in, encouraging them to ask questions and express ideas, and become more aware of their own place in our diverse and ever-changing culture.  

  • Ten chapters, each organized around a compelling issue and each containing four to six readings, offer students diverse points of view on such questions as “Does the media sell you fear?”, “Is fast food responsible for a public health crisis?”, “Can you define racial profiling?”, and “Is work an escape from home?”
  • A helpful introduction to reading and writing critically gives students useful and accessible guidance.
  • Readings have been selected from recent periodicals and represent a variety of perspectives. Sources include The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Atlantic, Africana, National Review, The Nation, GQ, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times, The Progressive, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The London Times, Psychology Today, Toronto Star, and Salon magazine.
  • Readings are relatively brief (six book pages in length maximum) and represent diverse genres, such as editorials, magazine articles, academic essays, and interviews.
  • “Visual Connections” sections in each chapter help students think about the ways that advertisements, photographs, and cartoons present ideas and concepts.
  • Extensive reading and writing apparatus accompanies each reading, to give students guidance and help:
    • Before each reading are: (1) Connecting to the Topic questions that encourage students to think about what they already know about the subject of the reading; and (2) Words in Context lists that identify words in the text that may be challenging.
    • After each reading are: (1) Considering the Issues questions that encourage students to think about the issues raised by the reading; (2) Craft and Content questions that address rhetorical and analytical issues; and (3) Critical Thinking and Writing about the Issues assignments that support thoughtful writing projects.

Introduction.

 

1. How Does Advertising Influence Us?

A Brand By Any Other Name, Douglas Rushkoff.

Brand Cool, Peter Belmonte.

On Sale at Old Navy: Cool Clothes for Identical Zombies!, Damien Cave.

With These Words I Can Sell You Anything, William Lutz.

Sample Ads (4).

Visual Connections: Adbusters.

2. Are there Limits to our Right to Privacy?

Privacy is Overrated, David Plotz.

The Case for a National ID Card, Margaret Carlson.

National ID Cards: 5 Reasons Why They Should Be Rejected, ACLU.

I Spy, Wendy Kaminer.

When Cameras Are Too Candid, Jane Black.

Visual Connections: Photo of video surveillance with television monitors.

3. Does the Media Promote a Culture of Fear?

Extreme Reality: How Media Coverage Exaggerates Risks and Dangers, John Stossel.

Who's Taking the Kids?, Jonathan Alter.

The Female Fear Factor, Myrna Blyth.

Heads Above the Hype, Peter Phillips.

Song Lyric: Calling All Angels, Train.

The Violence Reporting Project, Jane Ellen Stevens.

Visual Connections: Cartoon: Zits, Jim Borgman.

4. Do Campus Speech Codes Violate Students' Rights?

Muzzling Free Speech, Harvey A. Silverglate.

Hate Cannot Be Tolerated, Richard Delgado.

Free Speech Sucks!...But Censorship Sucks Even More, Denise Chaykun.

Difficult Conversations, Dorothy Rabinowitz.

Censor This?, Austin W. Bramwell.

Policy Statement on Discriminatory Harassment, Emory University.

Visual Connections: Free Speech: You Don't Have It, The Counterweight (cover).

5. Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?

The “M” Word, Andrew Sullivan.

Same-sex Marriage, Laurie Essig.

Gay Marriage–and Marriage, Sam Schulman.

Marriage Devalued, Dan Wasserman.

Abolish Marriage, Michael Kinsley.

Visual Connections: God-Ordained Marriage.

6. Can Racial Profiling Be Justified?

Blind Spot, Randall Kennedy.

What Looks Like Profiling Might Just Be Good Policing, Heather Mac Donald.

Are You a Terrorist, Or Do You Play One on TV?, Laura Fokkena.

Ragtime, My Time, Alton Fitzgerald White.

Racial Profiling Goes Beyond Black and White, Sasha Polakow-Suransky.

Visual Connections: Pulling Teeth, American Civil Liberties Union.

7. Are Designer Humans in our Future?

Baby, It's You and You and You, Nancy Gibbs.

Me, My Clone, and I, Jonathan Colvin.

The Geneyic Bill of Rights, Council for Responsible Genetics.

The Last Human, Gregory Stock.

Enough, Bill McKibben.

Visual Connections: Visions of Science 2002 photo contest.

8. Can Television Violence Influence Behavior?

Violence on Television–What do Children Learn? What Can Parents Do?, American Psychological Association.

Beyond Banning War and Superhero Play, Diane E. Levin.

Hate violence? Turn it off!, Tim Goodman.

Television's Global Marketing Strategy Creates a Damaging and Alienated Window on the World, George Gerbner.

Stop Blaming Kids and TV, Mike Males.

Visual Connections: Children's War Art: Helping Young Children Understand Peace and War (1985), Diane Levin and & Carlsson-Paige.

9. Is Fast Food Responsible for a Crisis in Public Health?

Finding Fault for the Fat, Daniel Akst.

Body Mass Index, National Institute of Health.

You Want Fries with That?, Richard Daynard.

Cartoon: We'll Have the Salad, Vic Cantone.

Fast Food Isn't to Blame, R. Alden Ames.

Fat Foods: Back in Court, Laura Bradford.

When America Relaxes, ‘Food Police’ Should Keep Quiet, Paul King.

We Eat; Therefore, We Are, Rosie Mestel.

Visual Connections: The Food Pyramid, United States Department of Agriculture.

10. Why Do We Work?

Why We Work, Andrew Curry.

Work is Life, Oliver Libaw.

Chart: Major Occupational Groups and Mean Annual Wages.

Measuring Success, Renee Loth.

The Right Way to Answer the Question: "Mommy, Why Do You Have to Work?", Sue Shellenberger.

There's No Place Like Work, Arlie Russell Hochschild.

Visual Connections: Photo of Working Parents.

  • Exam Copy
    Goshgarian
    © 2007 | Longman | Paper; 464 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321245202 | ISBN-13: 9780321245205


  • Instructor's Manual
    Goshgarian & Goodfellow
    © 2007 | Longman | Paper; 190 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321259475 | ISBN-13: 9780321259479

    Instructor's Manual
    Goshgarian & Goodfellow
    © 2007 | Longman | Paper;190 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321259475 | ISBN-13: 9780321259479

    Downloadable files:

    • PDF Version (pdf) (3.7MB | pdf file | Type: Manuals/Guides)


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    Hairston
    © 1991 | Longman | Cloth | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0673534227 | ISBN-13: 9780673534224


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